To download these free stories, please enter the newspaper publication you represent with your email address.
We will email you when we add new stories each month. Thanks!
Note: We are committed to keeping your e-mail address confidential. We do not sell, rent, or lease our contact data or lists to third parties.
Please see our privacy policy for details.
Please enter your organization and email above before downloading these articles.
Download PDF
Word .doc
Download Photo .jpg
Steven Spielberg is one of the world’s most artful directors and storytellers. While he was in post-production with “Jurassic Park,” he was also shooting the epic film “Schindler’s List.”
Recreating such a horrific part of history, one that personally affected his own family, weighed heavily on Spielberg. He describes his state of mind while jumping between the films as having a “tremendous amount of resentment and anger.” The schedule alone would be stressful enough, but the subject matter of “Schindler’s List” left Spielberg emotionally depleted after each day.
So he turned to the good doctor, or at least the funniest man ever to play one: Robin Williams. Patch Adams is right. Laughter is the best medicine. Williams would call Spielberg just to lift his spirits.
“Robin knew what I was going through, and once a week, Robin would call me on schedule, and he would do 15 minutes of stand-up on the phone,” recounts Spielberg. “I would laugh hysterically, because I had to release so much … the way Robin is on the telephone, he’d always hang up on the loudest, best laugh you’d give him. He’d never say goodbye, just hang up on the biggest laugh.”
Spielberg and Williams only worked together on one film: “Hook,” starring Williams as the effervescent Peter Pan. They became friends, and later, William’s sensitivity to Spielberg’s emotions during one of his hardest times became essential.
All of us need a little pick-me-up now and then. Life is hard. A good laugh is good therapy. We should make the time to make each other laugh. To have a session of side-splitting therapy.
Friendship is best when we share the ups, the downs and everything in between. Delivering a good chuckle to a friend when they are down is a gift that makes the moment a little more bearable. Looking at the funny side of life requires our care and attention. As Robin said: “You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.”
Laughter... PassItOn.com®
Copyright ©2023 The Foundation for a Better Life. All rights reserved. Available under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License (international): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
The Foundation for a Better Life, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, gives your newspaper permission to publish these stories in print and electronic media (excluding audio and video), provided the stories are published in their entirety, without modification and including the copyright notice. For any modification, permission must first be obtained from the Foundation by emailing media-relations@passiton.com. Thank you.
Your CommentsTo the Coaches of Pint-sized Athletes.
All year round, you’ll find brave dads and moms standing in the rink, on the field and in the gymnasium — surrounded by eager eyes and short attention spans. Here’s to the volunteers in our communities who teach our kids life lessons and never forget the orange slices.
No Strings Attached.
How a 7-year-old girl brings joy to neighbors with her violin.
Education is for Everyone.
Reading and writing are the basics of an education. See why a 90-year-old Kenyan great-grandmother went back to primary school.
Finding Our Way.
Using the natural elements around her, Kala Baybayan Tanaka navigates the ocean in a canoe for up to three weeks using nothing but observations of the natural elements around her.
Everybody Gets on Base.
Measuring the victories of life, one single at a time.
A Diamond in the Making.
How an everyday superhero saved the day by taking time to go through the garbage to find a stranger’s wedding ring.
The Curse of Texting and Driving.
How one father turned personal tragedy into triumph for thousands of teenagers by creating the Honor Connor Scholarship Fund.
Let the Music Move You.
Bob Geldof has spent a lifetime seeking harmony in the world.
Going the Distance.
Why top collegiate and professional athlete Dillon Shije will never stop running for his people.
A Legend On and Off the Court.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sold his four championship rings and three MVP trophies for $2.8 million. Then he donated all of the money to support youth education programs
Getting 100 on her Final Exam.
Nola Ochs went back to college at 95 years old. At age 100, she had earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and was still taking classes.
Beatrice Shilling
The motorcycle daredevil who became a mechanical engineer and saved the lives of countless pilots in WWll.
Winning at the Game of Life.
College football player gives up his scholarship to make more possible for a teammate.
More Than Just Dancing
How inclusion helps overcome mental illness.
Bee Productive.
17-year-old Gloria Barron Prize winner Anna Devolld is helping small things make a difference: Pollinators.
The Taming of the West Featuring Diamond Kitty.
It’s time to give cowgirls their due. Kitty Canutt was a bronc rider in the early 1900s who wore a diamond in her tooth that she occasionally removed and pawned when she needed contest entry money.
Going Deep to Deliver Kindness.
Free-dive record holder Enzo Maiorca rescues a trapped dolphin, then watches as it gives birth.
Sometimes the Wrong Direction is the Right Way.
How a wrong number, a wrong text and a mix-up led to long-lasting friendships.
From Homeless to Johns Hopkins.
Life is never fair. But if you work hard enough, and help someone along the way, you give yourself a better chance to make it.
When the World Says You Can’t, Listen to the Inner Voice that Says You Can.
The legacy of Susan La Flesche, the first Native American to earn a medical degree.
A Voice for Our Time.
The improbable dream journey of singer-songwriter Kodi Lee.
Overcoming Fear Sometimes Requires a Patient Friend.
How a flight attendant took the time to comfort a passenger who was having panic attacks.
From Russia, With Love.
The incredible story of Russian sculptor Andrey and his mission to bring unity to Ukraine and Russia through art.
The Brotherhood in Sports Goes Beyond the Field.
How a men’s rugby team supported one of their own.
Ramping Up to Help those in Need.
How a community came together in a time of tragedy.
How To Be Free.
Eliza Zenger teaches dance, music and arts to adults with disabilities. Their performance is the most beautiful you will ever see.
The Little Things that Make the Biggest Difference.
How one man created a forest the size of Central Park by planting one tree a day.
For the Cost of a Box of Cereal.
How just noticing makes all the difference in the world.
Teamwork that Saves Lives.
How a high school baseball team lifted a car off one of their classmates pinned underneath.
How to Land an Airplane Without Landing Gear.
17-year-old Maggie Taraska landed her airplane without landing gear on her way to flying solo cross-country.
Never, Ever Give Up.
The incredible story of the 12-year-old cancer patient who brings joy to half a million children fighting cancer.
Walking and Learning and Appreciating what we Have.
Neil King’s walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City uncovered the gems of slowing down.
Beyond the Moon with an Eye on Mars.
The story of a young woman who dreamed of pushing the boundaries and now designs launch systems for NASA.
Finding a New Family at the Mountain Man Rendezvous.
How a Vietnam vet pulled himself out of drug addiction by going back in the past.
A Hero for Accessibility.
How an 8-year-old girl captured the attention of the nation and motivated Congress.
A Lesson We Should Never Forget.
The incredible story of American POWs smuggling rations to Russian prisoners at Stalag-B.
For Soccer Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, Every Day is Mother’s Day.
Fortune and fame have allowed the soccer great to take care of his mother after all she has done for him.
Born to Make a Difference.
Kids who are changing their world.
Stay Curious.
The remarkable underwater life of Jacques Cousteau.
The Art of Doing Good.
How 18-year-old Gloria Barron Prize winner Austin Picinich is saving the salmon of Seattle by painting community murals.
Give Peace a Chance.
How a Mexican-American Marine negotiated peace speaking Japanese during WWll.
Our Local Heroes in Scrubs.
How health care workers saved the day.
From First Response to 11 Years of Friendship.
How EMTs saved a life and then enjoyed living it together.
Using the Write Words
How an African American Woman Wrote her Way to Freedom.
A Custom of Respect.
How the Japanese soccer team brings sportsmanship to the game.
The History of Us.
How a football coach develops young men by teaching them their own history.
Road Trip Across America.
A discovery of what unites us.
The World Awaits You.
The story of the first woman to circumnavigate the world.
If You Don’t Know Anything About Orangutans, You Don’t Know Jack.
Meet Jack Dalton, Gloria Barron Prize Winner and the nature conservationist who started by saving the orangutans at age 8.
The Calm in the Storm.
Being that one voice of encouragement in a community makes all the difference.
The Art of Pitching.
A little confidence at the right time goes a long way.
The Legacy of Dorothy Vaughan.
The Hidden Figure who Helped Put a man on the Moon.
Taking Care.
How one woman turned a life of neglect into a lifetime of taking care of people.
To Stay or Run?
The courageous story of a collegiate wrestler who fought a grizzly bear to save a friend. With thanks to the Cowboy State Daily.
Overcoming Our Own Worst Mistakes.
Kaelin Clay made an unpardonable error in football. And he owned it.
The Last Person you Think of Should Probably be the First.
How a group of high school boys practiced the art of inclusion.
Understanding Our Universe.
In a suburban neighborhood, the angst of the world still reaches a group of elementary kids. Bob stares at the stars with them and explains the universe and how there is order to everything.
Running to Win isn’t Always Running to Come in First.
Jacqueline Nyetipei Kiplimo demonstrates what really matters in life and in sports.
Matter In Motion.
How a physics professor is igniting the scientific passions of her female students.
Courage in a New World.
The story of Stagecoach Mary, the first Black woman to deliver mail in the Wild West.
Don’t Let a Bad Day Trick You Into Believing You Have a Bad Life.
Allie Newman not only survived cancer but also helps hospitals better meet the needs of teenage cancer patients.
Everybody Can Be a Hero.
How window cleaners brightened the day at a children’s hospital.
Billy Mills
The story behind America’s first and only 10,000-meter Olympic champion.
To All who are Lost: You will be Found Again.
The amazing story of the missing marathon runner who turned up 54 years later.
The Science of Happiness.
How a high school senior made sure an entire elementary school got Halloween.
Not Out of the Way, Along the Way.
Taking the long way to school makes for a long friendship.
Let the Kids Give it a Try
How 17-year-old Dasia Taylor developed sutures that detect infection.
Being a Mother…
The roundabout journey to a dream fulfilled.
A Most Unlikely Friendship.
How the war in Ukraine brought two families together from opposite sides.
Love Rules.
How Rick Moranis shrunk his role as an actor to be with his kids.
Teach Your Children.
How Graham Nash is still leading children into a better future.
The Mistakes We Learn From and Build On.
Every year, a handful of students in prisons across America take stock of their lives and make changes. Many earn their diplomas, ensuring better options and choices when they get out.
Taking the Fear Out of Surgery.
How one doctor helps children face their hospital fears by dressing them up as superheroes.
Trusting Those Who Guide Us Through Life.
The amazing brotherhood of aviation navigators.
Photographs that Changed the World.
How the searing photographs of Walker Evans’ America during the Depression created a national change in attitude toward the poor.
Are You Smarter Than a Seventh-Grade Business Owner?
How Kidpreneur Alejandro Buxton is making money for college and helping others.
Recognizing the Need.
How a neighbor took a disaffected young man under his wing and taught him how to be a man
Fix it Yourself.
How one couple moved hundreds of miles from home to run a center for pregnant teenage girls.
Lift Your Voice, Use Your Mind, Lift Others.
How a spark plug of a teacher ignites possibilities within her students in classroom 161.
Rescuing a Vessel — and a Family’s Memories.
A boat at the bottom of the lake for 30 years and a renewed appreciation for life when it is restored.
Playtime is for Everybody.
A dad sells off his business and builds a theme park for disabled kids.
Something Healthy for All of Us
How 17-year-old Gloria Barron Prize Winners Annie and Shirley Zhu provide fresh food for 1,400 people a year.
Taking Responsibility.
How one high school student supported her family during the pandemic.
Living Alone doesn’t Mean you Have to be Lonely.
How a community in Maine supports those who want to be left alone.
Including Everybody Means Everybody.
How Inclusion Films is making movies using crew with developmental disabilities.
How to Honor Your Mother.
Warrick Dunn played in the NFL for 12 seasons. His most impressive stat: He’s built 200 homes for single mothers. And he’s not done.
Doubling Back for a Friend.
Two teammates paused their 5K race to help a fellow competitor.
Respecting Your Customers.
As the Great Depression impoverished the country, many families stretched their budgets by making clothes out of flour and seed sacks. What companies did next may surprise you.
Taking Care of the Most Vulnerable.
Pam Tully dedicates 6 months a year to rescuing baby flying foxes alongside the volunteers who help her.
Bringing the Moon to your Living Room.
How 14-year-old Philo Farnsworth tinkered his way to the technology that broadcast the moon landing.
An Impossible Journey.
How John Wesley Powell navigated the Colorado River and Grand Canyon in wooden boats.
Family of 7 Adopts a Grandpa.
Friends come in all shapes, sizes, and ages. But love is universal.
Laughter is the Best Teacher.
How humor and history go together in this classroom.
The Least Likely to Help.
How a bedridden attorney still fights for the rights of others.
It’s Not Your Lifespan, it’s Your Wingspan.
How one girl’s 16 years of life impacts thousands.
Cross Safely.
How one man made sure his retirement years were spent helping kids move safely through life.
Bigger than Life.
How Premier League superstar Sadio Mané is changing the world beyond soccer.
You’re Never Too Old to Make a Difference.
British WWll veteran Captain Tom Moore raised over $45 million for charity at age 100.
The Future Belongs to Kids.
So far, things look pretty bright.
Reach for the Stars…
No Matter How Long it Takes.
If You Love Dogs, You’ll Love this Story.
A German shepherd slept at his owner’s gravesite.
How Far Would you go for a Friend?
The story of Dindim, the penguin who travels 5,000 miles every year to visit with its rescuer.
The Last American Explorer.
Norman Vaughan trekked Antarctica with Admiral Byrd, completed the Iditarod 13 times and climbed the 10,000-foot, icy mountain named after him at age 89.
Bear with Me!
The story of Wojtek the bear, who joined the Polish Army in WWll.
Never Give Up.
Lessons learned from Preston Tucker, creator of one of the most innovative cars in American history.
The Birth of Superman.
How two awkward teenage boys dreamed up the world’s most popular superhero.
Dream Big.
How a young artist from a remote mountainous tribe came to illustrate one of the most popular books of our time: ‘The Archer,’ by Paulo Coelho
Turning Tough News Into Hope.
How 11-year-old Jordan Phillips raised $120,000 to help fund cancer treatment.
No Matter Who You Are, You Can Always Help.
The day Muhammad Ali rushed to save a stranger who was about to take his own life.
Listening to the Music Inside.
The long journey of Maria Tallchief from the Osage Nation in Oklahoma to prima ballerina in New York City.
Hope. Dream. Become.
Expressing emotions in a healthy way helps us see the world for what it is and, more importantly, how we choose to engage with it. Check out these young poetry winners from the WPSU poetry contest in Pennsylvania.